The summer months can bring drought conditions in many areas across the world, but as any hardcore gamer will tell you, the gaming industry suffers the same condition each year. It's even tougher in years like 2014, where two major consoles just launched and early adopters are clamoring for new software for their pricey investments.

While I can't do anything about the lack of new games that are set to drop this summer, I can certainly help you get through it. Over the next two months, right before summer hits, we are going to see a few high profile games released that we think will dull the summer gaming blues. Some are old favorites, while a couple are brand new IP that look to offer unique gaming experiences. Here's my list of the five games to pick up this summer, in order of release date:

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That's right, Ubisoft officially announced Assassin's Creed III with its cover art being revealed, and it reveals a lot. As you can see from the image on the right, it appears as though our hero is in fact going to be of Native American descent (at least partly) and that he will be in the time of the American Revolution. Just peep the tomahawk in the hand, as well as the American flag in the background. We can also very clearly see an old-timey pistol in the image as well.

With the American Revolution setting, we suspect that there will be the killing of a lot of Red Coats in the near future. Stabbing and shooting our way into history as possibly the most interesting assassin ever. The release date for Assassin's Creed III has yet to be revealed by Ubisoft, though we are sure to hear more about it at this year’s E3 event. If you would like to make your own inferences about the game, also check out the Game Informer Magazine cover art below.

This goes out to all my broke Assassin's Creed fans. I know what it's like; the next instalment of your favorite game comes out, one you have been waiting for what feels like a lifetime. But there is one big, big problem -- you don't have an extra 60 bucks to shell out for a video game. Things like rent, baby diapers, and holidays often get in the way of what we really want. Well, I think I can help. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is available for $34.99 on Amazon for both Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms--that's a savings of 42%. Sure, it's not free but every little bit helps!

The game that nobody thought would actually come out this year is officially done and on its way to be pressed, boxed, and shipped out to game stores. Yes, that’s right. Assassin’s Creed, the long-in-development Crusades sandbox epic has gone gold for production.

“We’ve been working very hard for nearly four years to make Assassin’s Creed a reality and now there is a confirmed date when players will get to experience the results of our efforts,” shared Jade Raymond, producer of Assassin’s Creed. “This is a huge event for the team. Our biggest reward will be everyone having a lot of good solid fun.”

The developers of Assassin’s Creed have always boasted of their game’s high level of environmental interaction. They claim that every wall, object, or person in their highly anticipated Xbox 360/PS3/PC action-adventure game can be scaled, moved, or shoved. And now here’s the video to prove it. Watch Altair (the game’s featured assassin) try to escape the city’s guards by running, climbing, and jumping all over this Middle Aged playground, and kindly ignore the futuristic glitches and flashes that hint at a more mysterious storyline that Ubisoft will not divulge. Gape at the mind-boggling geometry that for once actually does permit the level of interaction promised by its enthusiastic creators. Raise an eyebrow at the anachronistic Hans Zimmer-esque musical score. Breathe a sigh of relief that this long in development game looks like it could conceivably hit that once nigh-unhittable November release date.

The video above, showing some of Ubisoft‘s shooter Haze, reveals some of the combat tactics in play later in the game once your character has joined against his former employer.

While the video looks nice and showcases some of the game’s more intriguing facets, even more intriguing is the announcement that the game is now slated to be a PS3 exclusive. Originally haze was to be a timed exclusive, hitting the PlayStation 3 first and then coming later to the Xbox 360 and PC. Now it seems that developer Free Radical is only working on the PS3 version, although Ubisoft isn’t conting those version out completely, saying only, “The official statement on PC and Xbox 360 is that these platforms are not confirmed.”

Ubisoft doesn’t think you should be getting too excited about Crysis. According to them, Far Cry 2 is going to be the new hawtness. In fact, they’re pretty confident that Far Cry 2 is going to be the game to raise the bar in the FPS arena:

“Far Cry marked the beginning of a new era for shooters. An era of gorgeous graphics and of advanced artificial intelligence,” declared John Parkes, EMEA marketing director at Ubisoft. “We are confident that Far Cry 2 will have the same impact again on the FPS genre landscape.”

Never mind the fact that Far Cry 2 isn’t being developed by Crytek, or that they don’t have shiny screenshots to show off. It’s just going to be awesome. Plus, you’ll be able to look forward to the ports! Far Cry 2: Instinctual Predation - Evolution of Vengeance coming soon to the the PS2, Wii, Gamecube, Xbox, GBA, and your cell phone.

Snarkiness aside, the game will be developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal Studios who also worked on Splinter Cell and the Prince of Persia series, so we can probably expect some pretty good things. From the look of the preview website, it looks like the game may take place in the African savannah, but we’ll have to wait for Ubi to give us any more tidbits of info (such as platforms, release dates, and all that other important stuff).

It’s about time – finally, Xbox 360 owners who weren’t fortunate enough to play The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Xbox or PC can now do so on Xbox 360. The update brings the total number of back compat Xbox games to over 300. And all games are upscaled, so those who have been waiting to play NBA Live 2002 in 720p or 1080i can now do so.

Over on Gamerscore Blog, a list has been posted with all of the games being shown at E3 that will be available this year. Xbox 360 games, Xbox Live Arcade games, Games for Windows-branded titles, and Games for Windows Live-enabled games. It’s a lot to digest, and with big name games like BioShock, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero III, Sonic the Hedgehog (the original, don’t worry), Puzzle Quest, Company of Heroes: Opposing Forces… let’s just say there’s something for nearly everyone.